Dear Friends:

 

Those of us involved in the North Korea human rights movement can definitely sympathize with the comments that President Obama has made about not having the luxury of dealing with one crisis at a time but being confronted with many crises at once.  As the world watches North Korea prepare for their missile launch, let's remember that when it comes to North Korea, the most important issue is the human rights conditions and the terrible multiple tragedies facing the North Korean people.  

 

Please remember that today, over 200,000 men, women and children continue to suffer in North Korea's gulag where over 400,000 have already been killed; people are continuing to starve adding to the 3 million lives already lost from famine; North Korean females are being victimized by traffickers in China; refugees 

forced back to North Korea by China's cruel repatriation policy will be beaten and tortured and even executed; three hundred aging South Korean POWs who gave their youth to make South Korea free will wonder if they will continue to be abandoned and forgotten; hundreds of abductees from South Korea, Japan and nine other nations will wonder if they will ever see their families again; and two young, brave American women, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, languish in a prison in Pyongyang wondering if they will meet the same fate as abducted American resident Kim Dong Shik who was tortured and starved to death in Pyongyang for helping the North Korean people.

 

This North Korea Freedom Week we do not have the luxury of addressing one of these ongoing tragedies, so we intend to address all of them.  We have more events, and more organizations and defectors participating this year than in any previous North Korea Freedom Week.

 

We have confirmed the participation of thirty defectors from North Korea who will join us for our April 28 North Korea Freedom Day rally as we stand together to promote the freedom, human rights and dignity of the North Korean people.   

 

We need your help on the following items:

 

NKFW 09 Flyers and Posters  -- Please print out the attached flyers to help us spread the word about the two main public events that week -- the Capitol Hill Rally at noon April 28 and the demonstration at the Chinese embassy at noon on May 2.  Silence is Death won the poster contest, and we have large posters available to be placed in public sites.  Please email Henry Song at * if you have a place for posting the NKFW 09 official poster.

 

Register to Visit your Senators and Congressmen in support of North Korea Human Rights: Please take the time after the April 28 rally to visit your own lawmakers, please register here at *

NKFW Housing: If you live in the DC area and can open your home to folks coming for NKFW OR if you are coming for NKFW and need housing, please let Jane Yang know at 

*

Financial Help: If you cannot physically be present for North Korea Freedom Week, please consider being a sponsor of the week's events by sending a tax-deductible contribution to: NKFC, c/o Jubilee Campaign, 9689 Main Street, Suite C, Fairfax, Virginia 22031 or donate online here https://www.networkforgood.org/donation/ExpressDonation.aspx?ORGID2=521645262

Below is the latest schedule for North Korea Freedom Week 2009. 

Acta Non Verba,

Suzanne Scholte